GFP Commission Proposes 2017 Elk and Mountain Goat Seasons

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Commission proposed to allocate 443 any elk and 1,150 antlerless elk licenses for the 2017 Black Hills elk hunting season at their March meeting. The proposal would result in a decrease of 105 antlerless elk licenses compared to 2016. The 2017 season will follow the same season date structure as the 2016 season.

The Commission proposed the 2017 archery elk hunting season with season dates of Sept. 1-30 and 147 any elk and 130 antlerless elk licenses. This proposal would result in a decrease of 10 antlerless elk licenses compared to 2016.

The 2017 prairie elk hunting season was proposed with a total of 149 licenses in the four prairie hunting units and would follow the same season date structure as 2016. The Commission proposed to keep the prairie unit 30A (Gregory County) closed. The Commission also proposed to expand the geographic area of Unit 11 to include that portion of Todd County west and north of the Little White River.

The Commission proposed two licenses for the 2017 and 2018 mountain goat hunting seasons. The seasons would run Sept. 1-Dec. 31, 2017, and Sept. 1 – Dec. 31, 2018, respectively. The mountain goat hunting unit is those portions of Pennington and Custer counties west of Highway 79 except Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Jewel Cave National Monument, and the fenced portion of Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park.

The Commission will finalize this proposal April 6-7 at the Ramkota Convention Center in Watertown. Written comments can be sent to wildinfo@state.sd.us. To be part of the public record, comments must be received by 12 p.m. CST on April 6. Please include a full name along with the city and state of residence. To comment in person, the public hearing will be held April 6, at 2 p.m. CST at the Ramkota Convention Center in Watertown.